Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun denied that he dated the late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor.
His agency, Gold Medalist, issued a denial after popular YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute uploaded a video and discussed Kim Sae-ron’s death and Kim Soo-hyun.
Kim Sae-ron was found dead last Feb. 16, coincidentally on Kim Soo-hyun’s birthday. She was an actress under agency Gold Medalist, which also manages Kim Soo-hyun.
The actress was on hiatus for years since she was involved in a drunk driving incident in May 2022.
Kim Sae-ron uploaded this photo with Kim Soo-hyun in March last year (Instagram)
Kim Soo-hyun (Instagram)
Kim Sae-ron (Instagram)
Garosero Research Institute uploaded the video on March 10 and said it was based on materials and interviews from actress Kim Sae Ron's family.
Kim Sae-ron’s aunt claimed that Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron met in 2014 when she was in her second year of middle school.
The YouTube channel claimed that Kim Soo-hyun, who was 27 at the time, started dating Kim Sae-ron when she was 15 years old.
It also obtained a statement purportedly written by Kim Sae-ron who was planning to post it on Instagram last year after she uploaded a photo with Kim Soo-hyun. At the time, Kim Soo-hyun’s drama “Queen of Tears” was airing.
In the statement, provided by Kim Sae-ron’s family to the YouTube channel, Kim Sae-ron wrote, “First, I would like to apologize to everyone and the broadcasting staff who were hurt and confused due to my negligence. The dating rumors that were previously reported were groundless, but I would like to make it clear that they are not true.”
“The photo posted in the story is from 2016, and the relationship lasted from November 19, 2015 to July 7, 2021. I am 16 years old and my partner is 30 years old. That was it. That's how the 6-year relationship ended,” she wrote. Kim Soo-hyun was 27 at the time.
Gold Medalist issued a statement to refute the allegations by the YouTube channel, including Kim Soo-hyun having a relationship with Kim Sae-ron when she was 15.
“The content that Garosero Research Institute claimed regarding actor Kim Soo-hyun through the YouTube broadcast is clearly false,” the agency said.
It said, “Garosero Research Institute claimed that our company and actor Kim Soo-hyun colluded with YouTuber Lee Jin-ho to harass the late actress Kim Sae-ron, and made many malicious claims against our company and actor Kim Soo-hyun, such as the claim that the late actress Kim Sae-ron had been in a relationship with actor Kim Soo-hyun since she was 15, the claim that the agency’s response at the time of the late actress Kim Sae-ron’s drunk driving accident was unfair, and the claim that our company’s manager was close to YouTuber Lee Jin-ho.”
“However, all of these are false claims that we cannot tolerate, and our company will consider taking the strongest legal action possible against Garosero Research Institute’s spread of false information,” it said.
The agency said, “Our company is deeply saddened by the news of the death of actress Kim Sae-ron, who was once affiliated with our company, and we mourn the deceased. However, the above-mentioned false information spread by Garosero Research Institute is a direct repetition of the so-called 'cyber wrecker' behavior that the deceased had such a hard time with while alive, and it is not only damaging our company's reputation but also the deceased's reputation for its own benefit, so our company will respond strictly to this.”
“We earnestly request that you refrain from spreading, expanding, or reproducing false information that has no value whatsoever,” it said.